Happy 32nd Birthday, Liz!
I’ll get to the birthday fun part of this
update soon, but before I go there; let’s back up and cover the rest of the
news for the day first.
Michael and I both fell asleep last night
long before the movie ended, and Mom and Dad left us sleeping in the lounge
overnight; so the sofa sleepover that I knew would be my favorite option for
how our night ended worked out great for us.
Falling asleep early worked out for Michael in the morning too; and he
was able to wake up and get home in time to get ready for the day and head over
to the Inn with his father so that they could both work the breakfast
shift. While he went to do that, I went
back to sleep and had Mandy for my cuddle buddy until it was time to get up for
Tai chi with my parents, Ethan, and Ehlana.
After having breakfast in the sunroom, it
was time for chores; and that kept me busy for most of the morning – especially
since I also needed to get guest bedrooms ready for the kids and teens that are
spending the night here while our parents are out celebrating Liz’s
birthday. Mom and Dad did give me the
afternoon off, though, and since Michael didn’t have to work the lunch shift
too; he joined us for lunch and then we spent the afternoon playing with Ethan
and Ehlana – until he then needed to be back at the Inn for the dinner
shift. It would have been nice if he’d
been able to join us in the dining room for Liz’s birthday dinner, but then I
was assigned kid control duty anyway; so he’d have worked hard either way –
even if it would have been more fun with me.
Kids were invited to Liz’s birthday dinner
because I’d have needed a lot more help to get all of them fed at our house –
not to mention the extra clean-up time that would have been needed. That isn’t to say that I didn’t have some
kids in need of being cleaned up once they’d finished having cake and ice cream
for dessert, but in most cases; that was done by wiping them down and changing
their messy clothes. It might have been
easier to just dunk them in the river; but even without very much snow so far
this winter; it’s a bit chilly for doing that in January.
Rowen and Tim did not come to the Inn for
dinner, but they did meet us at my house in time to help out with the
kids. Michael had needed to stay at the
Inn longer than he’d hoped, but we had some parental support while we got all
of the younger kids settled into the lounge to watch a movie or play with toys
and games in my bedroom. Some video
gaming was an option too, but the kids did that on iPads or portables while the
television in the lounge was tied up with Disney cartoons. Tim, Rowen, and I kept busy straight through
until Michael joined us, and by then; we needed to start dealing with kids
falling asleep.
For me, that included some quality time
with Brianna as I gave her a bottle and sang her to sleep; though I’ll admit
that neither of us was thrilled with the diaper change part of that process. I also took care of Hailey and Leah when they
were each ready to crash for the night; while Rowen kept the rest of the girls
entertained and Michael and Tim did the same for the boys. The Video gaming moved to the big screen once
the boys that were still awake out-numbered the girls, but then Rowen, Naomi,
and I were eventually able to cuddle with our favorite boys as the younger kids
dropped off – or were eventually just ordered to bed.
It’s currently a bit past one o’clock, and
I’m writing this while getting ready for bed.
We just finished putting the last four kids to bed; and the four teens
left standing are all getting changed before we meet up again in the lounge to
watch a movie while we wait for Mom and Dad to get home from the pub and Liz’s
party. That cuddle time with Michael
will be a nice way to end the day, but we won’t be doing another sofa sleepover
because Tim’s already warned us that he and Rowen should get a turn for that if
anyone gets to have a sofa sleepover at all.
I really hope that he’s joking about
wearing what he normally wears to bed at home for our cuddle and a movie time
just to make sure that he can’t leave the lounge when my parents get home, but
since I also just heard him head into the lounge; I won’t be surprised to find
him under a blanket with his shirt off in an attempt to make Rowen and I think
that’s exactly what he’s done.
If that does happen – or if he actually did
what he said he’d to; it’ll have to be a cliff-hanger for my next update
because I need to wrap this up and finish getting ready so that I don’t miss
out on any of the cuddle time with Michael.
We’ve had a really good day so far even with all of the work and
babysitting, and I want to keep the fun going now; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
